By Alex Webbe
Barrossa (Erik Wright, Ernie Ezcurra, Santiago Trotz and Jef Graham) opened the 2012 January 8-10 goal League with a 12-8 win over Empire 10 (Eric Hammon, Craig Steinke, Mariano Fassetta and Ashton Wolf) Friday afternoon at the Empire Polo Club in Indio California.
Play was fast and furious in the opening chukker with Erik Wright scoring twice and teammate Jef Graham scoring once for Barrossa. Empire 10 got a pair of goals from Craig Steinke and a single goal from Ashton Wolf. The period ended in a 3-3 deadlock.
Wright added another goal in a low-scoring second chukker. Mariano Fassetta kept it all even at 4-4 with Empire 10’s only offense of the period.
Ernie Ezcurra put Barrossa up 5-4 with his first goal of the game, but Empire 10 fired back with a goal from Fassetta, and the first half ended in a 5-5 tie.
Santiago Trotz made his presence known in the second half with two fourth chukker goals while Empire 10 was held to a single goal from Fassetta, and after four chukkers Barrossa sat on top of a precarious 7-6 lead.
Two more Barrossa goals stretched the lead to two goals, 9-7 as Wright converted a penalty shot and Trotz scored from the field. Steinke managed a goal from the field, but that was all the offense Empire 10 could produce as the Barossa defense deflected passes, hooked shots and kept driving toward the Empire 10 goal.
Fassetta cut the Barrossa lead to a single goal, 9-8, with a penalty goal in the sixth period but the period was just getting started. Three unanswered goals closed out the scoring as Wright added another penalty goal and Trotz scored his fourth and fifth goals of the game. When the final horn sounded Barrossa found itself on the winning end of a 12-8 game.
Trotz and Wright scored five goals apiece. Single goals were added by Ezcurra and Graham.
Fassetta scored four times for Empire 10. Steinke added three goals and Wolf accounted for a single goal in a losing effort.